Horseshoes have been used since ancient times for the protection of the hooves of riding animals from excessive wear, the shape predominantly used today of a horseshoe to be nailed to the hoof of a riding animal not having substantially changed since the Middle Ages.
At present, horseshoes are available in various configurations to achieve specific orthopedic effects, and also various materials such as steel, iron, aluminum and even plastics as well as combinations of the aforementioned materials, in order to provide the required softness or elasticity of the shoe or hoof protection, on the one hand, and to prevent excessive wear, on the other hand. In order to improve said orthopedic effect, and protect the hoof of the riding animal to the greatest extent possible, horseshoes, in particular horseshoes made of plastic, have recently also been glued to the hooves of a riding animal. The elasticity between the hoof and the hoof protection, however, cannot or not substantially be increased by a glued horseshoe, either.
By “horseshoe”, any type of hoof protection that can be applied to the hoof of a riding animal is understood here, irrespectively of whether it is nailed or glued and irrespective of the material of which it is made.
In order to increase the flexibility of a horseshoe, metal parts resulting in the shape of a horseshoe when joined together were inserted in a plastic shell according to DE 33 44 095, and said metal parts were vulcanized into the horseshoe-shaped elastomer ring. In doing so, the parts were formed to either overlap or adjoin each other, wherein no additional connection was provided in the overlapping regions so that a certain mobility was achievable by the use of plastic.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,607, a horseshoe became known, in which insert parts were inserted in the toe region or forward end region of the horseshoe to achieve a more or less high flexibility. The insertion of those parts was performed by the insertion of retaining pins or locking screws from outside.
A similar variant to increase the flexibility of a horseshoe can be taken from FR-A 483.953, in which a joint connection is provided in the toe region by means of a rivet or kind of a spherical joint in order to make the two legs of a horseshoe relatively movable.
A similar solution can also be taken from DE-C 4233, in which joints are provided in the toe region in order to make the legs of the horseshoe movable at least to a slight extent.
Finally, DE 297 18 933 U1 describes a horseshoe that is to follow the movement of the hoof during walking, wherein a joint connection is also provided there in the toe region to enable the movement of the two legs of the horseshoe relative to each other.
It is, however, impossible, in particular with shoes completely made of metal, to match the desired elasticity of the horseshoe, in particular, in combination with the hoof noticeably moving when the animal touches the ground, so that all horseshoes used so far either suffer from having an insufficient elasticity or from excessively strongly and rapidly wearing, thus requiring, in addition to the relatively high costs for the horseshoe as such, relatively frequent shoeing, or new gluing of the horseshoes to the hooves of the riding animals, which is in turn not beneficial to the hoof proper of the riding animal.
The present invention aims to provide a hoof protection, in particular horseshoes for the hooves of riding animals, by which it is possible to achieve a permanent and relatively wear-resistant shoe, on the one hand, and the necessary elasticity required for a healthy movement of the hoof of the riding animal, on the other hand.
To solve these objects, the horseshoe according to the invention is essentially characterized in that the rear end parts are movable relative to each other in the plane of the hoof application side of the horseshoe via joint connections, and that the joint connections are each overlapped on an outer side of the horseshoe by an element exerting a restoring force onto the movable end parts. In that the rear end parts are movable relative to each other in the plane of the hoof application side of the horseshoe via joint connections, the rear end parts of the horseshoe, which are movably fixed, are able to follow the movement of the hoof, in particular when the riding animal touches the ground, during which movement the hoof of the riding animal is pressed apart, and hence widens, in the region of the hoof quarters, thus causing the movably fixed, rear end parts to be moved outwards.
When the riding animal relieves its hoof again, the element provided to exert a restoring force on the movable end parts ensures that the rear end parts movably fixed to the base body are returned into their resting positions or starting positions. Such an arrangement, thus, enables the horseshoe at every step of the riding animal to safely and reliably follow the naturally occurring movements, i.e. the widening of the hoof in the region of the hoof quarters while touching the ground and its narrowing when again raising the feet.
In order to further safeguard that the elements exerting a restoring force ensure the safe return of the movably fixed, rear end parts, the invention is preferably further developed such that the elements exerting a restoring force are selected from spring elements or damping elements. When correctly positioned, such elements are able to exert pressure on the movably fixed, rear end parts, and hence move the same back into their original positions when the higher pressure exerted by the hoof of the riding animal on the movably fixed, rear end parts is reduced.
According to a preferred further development, the elements exerting a restoring force are designed as leaf springs.
Leaf springs can in this case, in particular, be safely and reliable positioned on the outer side of the horseshoe, thus causing no extension, or a minimum extension at most, of the horseshoe such that an injury of the riding animal during the use of the horseshoe will be safely excluded and any inadvertent destruction of the leaf springs, or the element providing a restoring force, by the riding animal stepping on it will, moreover, be prevented.
In that, as in correspondence with a preferred further development, the leaf springs are detachably connected to at least the base body and/or the movably fixed end parts, different leaf springs can be fixed to one and the same horseshoe to exert a higher or lower restoring force on the movably fixed end parts. In this respect, it is up to the skilled artisan, e.g. the blacksmith, to choose, and insert into the horseshoe, the respectively appropriate leaf springs. Such a configuration also enables, for instance, destroyed leaf springs to be replaced at any time without requiring new shoeing of the riding animal.
According to a further development of the invention, the horseshoe is configured such that the leaf springs are detachably fixable in blind holes formed in at least the base body. By fixing the leaf springs in blind holes of the base body, excess widening of the horseshoe to the outside will be avoided, on the one hand, and a safe and reliable support of the leaf springs within the horseshoe will, moreover, be safeguarded, on the other hand.
According to another further development of the invention, the horseshoe is preferably configured such that the leaf springs are non-detachably connected to the movably fixed, rear end parts. Such a configuration ensures that the leaf springs are captively fixed to the horseshoe, and that the horseshoe can, for instance, be worked hot for adaption to the respective hoof of the riding animal. Following hot-working of the horseshoe, it will thus only be necessary to detachably connect the free ends of the leaf springs to the base body in order to provide a fully functioning horseshoe.
All horseshoe configurations comprising leaf springs have in common that the leaf spring can either be provided externally on the horseshoe or inserted in a depression or groove of the main body or the movable part of the horseshoe so as to safely prevent any injury of the riding animal.
According to another configuration of the invention, the horseshoe is configured such that the horseshoe, on its outer side, is at least partially surrounded by at least one elastic plastic strip exerting a restoring force. In that the horseshoe, on its outer side, is at least partially surrounded by at least one elastic plastic strip exerting a restoring force, the same effect as with the above-described leaf springs will be achieved. It is thus possible at any time after the touching down of the riding animal to exert sufficient pressure on the movably fixed, rear end parts in order to bring the latter back into their basic positions. When the riding animal rises its feet again, the movably fixed, rear end parts will again be pressed outwards to beyond the outer contour of the horseshoe, thus deforming the elastic plastic band in the external direction.
Such a configuration, moreover, offers the advantage of the horseshoe always being smooth on its outer side so as to clearly reduce the risk of injury to the riding animals.
A particularly simple fixation of the plastic strip to the horseshoe is feasible according to the invention in that the ends of the at least one elastic plastic strip are fixed, in particular hooked, in recesses provided, in particular, on the inner side of the horseshoe. In that the ends of the at least one elastic plastic strip are fixed and hooked in recesses provided, in particular, on the inner side of the horseshoe, a horseshoe can be worked on, and nailed to the hoof of a riding animal, in a conventional manner and the elastic plastic strip can be passed around the horseshoe after the fixation of the latter by the blacksmith. Similarly, the plastic strip might also be fixed prior to shoeing. In this context, it should be noted that such a plastic strip can also be designed as a closed plastic strip, since, in particular in the region of the hoof quarters of the horse, silicone inserts or covers are frequently also applied for orthopedic reasons, in which case such a plastic strip would also provide a termination to the outside.
In order to safely prevent the plastic strip from slipping out of position in the region of the horseshoe and, in particular, sliding up the hoof or down from the horseshoe, the invention is preferably further developed such that at least one guide channel or guide groove is formed in the base body for the at least one elastic plastic strip. By providing a guide channel or guide groove, the plastic strip is safely prevented from slipping out of position, and it is, moreover, ensured that, for instance, no sand or small stones will penetrate between the horseshoe and the plastic strip during walking, which, on the one hand, would possibly cause excessive wear of the plastic strip and, on the other hand, could also lead to injuries of the riding animal.
In that, as in correspondence with a further development of the invention, the horseshoe is designed such that irregularities of the hoof application side possibly existing in the region of the joint connections are filled with resilient silicone or rubber inserts, a completely plane hoof application side will, furthermore, be provided so as to safely prevent any impairment of and, in particular, inadvertent pressure, in particular point pressure, on the hoof.
To this end, the invention according to a preferred further development can be configured such that the joint connections on the hoof application side are each provided with a cover element, in particular a leather or plastic cover element. By providing a cover element on the hoof application side to cover, in particular, the joint connections, it has, on the one hand, become possible to avoid any inadvertent pressure on the hoof of the riding animal in the region of the joint connections and, on the other hand, the friction-free functioning of the movably fixed, rear end parts, which are hinged to the joint, will be safeguarded. It is finally possible by such a cover element, in particular if it covers, for instance, the entire hoof region of a riding animal, to also fulfill an orthopedic purpose, for instance by a horseshoe with a silicone-foamed hoof.
In order to ensure the safe functioning of the movably fixed end parts of the horseshoe and, in particular, the friction-free movement of said movably fixed end parts on or over the base body, or track surface of the base body, either the base body and/or the movably fixed end parts according to the invention are provided with a friction-reducing coating such as a copper plating. By such a configuration, the simple and permanent working of the movably fixed end parts of the horseshoe will be ensured.